Otherplan Public Beta 0.29 is out! In this release, we’ve improved bridged trace warnings, added new collision warnings, updated the Othermill’s firmware, and fixed a handful of bugs. Download it now or read on for the details.

Collision Warnings

The Othermill is only as smart as the instructions sent to it — if the instructions tell it to mill deep into its spoilboard or past the boundaries of its axes, it'll attempt to do so. Under extreme circumstances, accidents like these can damage the material being milled or the Othermill itself.

Video showing an Othermill frame collision. Don't try this at home!

Otherplan 0.29 analyzes toolpaths to prevent these types of problems. If imported G-code contains instructions that will cause the Othermill to mill outside the valid machining area, a warning will appear.

Otherplan's new Collision Warnings

If you see a warning, check your toolpaths and placement settings before proceeding. More details about the warnings, and tips for resolving issues that cause these warnings, are available in our new support guide.

Bridged Trace Warning Updates

In Otherplan 0.28, we added bridged trace warnings to help you identify the appropriate tools to use when milling PCBs. In this newest release, we’ve improved the algorithm to reduce false positives and expanded these warnings to include holes. If any holes on your PCB are too small to be milled with the selected tools, you’ll see a warning in Otherplan as well as red indicator lines on the 3D rendering. Check out the updated support guide for more details.

Otherplan 0.29 indicating vias that would not be milled with the selected tools.

Firmware Update

Otherplan 0.29 contains a firmware update for the V2 Othermill and Othermill Pro. In this firmware update, we improved two key areas. First, we fixed a bug that caused G18 commands in G-code to produce incorrect toolpaths. Second, we significantly improved throughput and error handling of very small arcs. Both of these should help users who have experienced issues with G-code imported from third-party CAM software.

If your Othermill needs its firmware updated, you’ll see a prompt upon connection to Otherplan.

Otherplan showing that a firmware update is available.

Note that after firmware updates, the Othermill will be returned to its factory settings, and any installed tools or fixturing will need to be relocated. The next release of the Mac-only version of Otherplan will also include this firmware update.

Other Updates

We aim to make bug fixes and improvements in every release. This time around, we’ve included these other updates:

Added new view options to Otherplan’s 3D view that allow you to view the 3D preview only, toolpaths only, or both:

Resolved a bug in our networking library that caused persistent high CPU usage.

Updated the stepper motor power management setting for the Kickstarter Othermill to match V2 Othermill and Othermill Pro. This setting keeps the Othermill’s stepper motors powered for longer to prevent unexpected loss of precision in the z axis.

Fixed a bug that caused the reload button to be inoperative with PCB files.

As always, we’re excited to hear your feedback. Please don’t hesitate to contact us if you have any to share.

Our sales team is also standing by if you have questions about how the Othermill Pro might accelerate your in-house prototyping. Just follow this link to learn more.